Top 10 players of all time from Canterbury

Canterbury is the second most successful team in the New Zealand domestic circuit having won the Plunket Shield 19 times and the Ford Trophy on 14 occasions.

Some of the finest international players for New Zealand donned the colours of Canterbury during their illustrious career including the likes of Sir Richard Hadlee, Shane Bond, Nathan Astle and many others.

Canterbury holds the record for the highest innings total in New Zealand domestic cricket, scoring 777 against Otago in 1996/97.

Let's take a look at the Top 10 players of all time to have played their cricket for Canterbury.

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#10 Tom Latham

Tom Latham might be still just 25, but the New Zealand cricketer has made quite an impact in international cricket since making his debut for the Black Caps, including the match-winning century against India in the recently concluded ODI series between the two sides.

Latham worked his way through to the national team by virtue of his impressive performances at the various age levels for Canterbury. He captained the Canterbury Under-19 side and also played for the Canterbury A side.

He made his first-class debut for Canterbury during the 2010-11 Plunket Shield season, scoring 65 in his debut innings.

Latham, who made his Test debut against India in 2014, has already played 32 Tests for New Zealand and possesses a healthy average of 38.84 with the bat, including 6 centuries.

Latham, who has also played County Cricket with both Durham and Kent, averages above 41 in first-class cricket, scoring close to 6000 runs in his career so far.

#9 Chris Martin

Martin earned the respect of his peers with his dedication and commitment to the sport

One of New Zealand's greatest seam bowlers, Chris Martin earned a dubious distinction as the world's worst batsman. His batting average of 2.36 is the lowest among all players in Test cricket.

In fact, having scored just 123 and 8 runs in his entire Test and ODI career respectively, Martin, with 233 Test wickets and 18 ODI wickets, has more wickets than runs to his name.

Even in T20I cricket, Martin scored just 5 runs while picking up 7 wickets.

With the ball, Martin had a fruitful career for New Zealand, especially in the longer format of the game. Martin is one of four New Zealand Test cricketers to have taken 200 wickets and in 2011, he was awarded the inaugural Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for his performances.

Martin's finest performance for New Zealand came in the Auckland Test in 2004 against South Africa when he led his side to victory with an 11-wicket haul.

Martin made his first-class debut for Canterbury in 1997 before moving to Auckland in 2005. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2013 with 588 wickets from 189 first-class matches and not surprisingly, with a fewer number of runs (473) than wickets taken.

# 8 Dick Motz

Motz was the first New Zealand cricketer to take 100 Test wickets

Dick Motz was a genuine fast bowler who earned his name in New Zealand cricket history by becoming the first player to take 100 Test wickets for the Kiwis.

He made his Test debut in 1961 and was named the New Zealand Cricketer of the Year after he picked up 19 wickets in his debut series - away to South Africa.

Apart from his bowling skills, characterized with his outswingers, Motz was a huge hit with cricket fans for both New Zealand and Canterbury because of his big-hitting skills, which included a knock of 103 for Canterbury against Otago in 1968 in 53 minutes.

He also scored three Test half-centuries against England and was a nemesis for England great Geoffrey Boycott dismissing him on no lesser than six times.

The right-arm pace bowler also has the dubious distinction of being the first player to be banned from bowling in a Test due to running on the pitch.

Motz had a dream debut for Canterbury after the then 17-year-old was called in as a late replacement in a Plunket Shield match against Northern Districts in 1957. He finished with figures of 4/40 and was also involved in a match-winning 67-run stand for the ninth wicket.

Motz scored close to 3500 runs in first-class cricket and picked up 518 wickets as well before he was forced to retire from the game after he was discovered that he had been playing with a displaced vertebra.

#7 Chris Harris

Harris is one of New Zealand's greatest players ever in the ODI format

A Canterbury legend who played for the side for nearly two decades, Chris Harris was one of New Zealand's finest ODI players in the 1990s and early 2000s.

In fact, Harris scored 2130 of his 4379 ODI runs at the Number 7 position - the highest tally by any player at the No 7 spot in the 50-over format.

Nicknamed 'Lugs', Harris was an annoying proposition for the opposition batsmen with his nagging slow-medium wobblers and one of the best fielders during his time in international cricket, especially of his own bowling.

Harris has 29 caught and bowled dismissals in ODIs, just 6 behind Muttiah Muralitharan's tally of 35 as the bowler with most caught and bowled dismissals.

Harris was much loved by his teammates and served as captain of Canterbury for a number of years before leaving the province to join the now-defunct Indian Cricket League.

With 203 wickets from 250 ODIs, Harris is one of only four New Zealand cricketers to have picked up 200 or more wickets in the 50-over format.

#6 Craig McMillan

McMillan was a colourful character on the field

Known for his innovative batting and love for bowling short-pitch stuff despite being an occasional medium-pace bowler, Craig McMillan was a consistent presence in the New Zealand national side for nearly a decade.

McMillan made his debut for the Canterbury U-20 side at the age of 17 and scored his maiden first-class century in just his second game against Auckland during the 1994-95 season.

A fantastic domestic season that saw McMillan score 809 runs in eight matches at an average of 73.54, helped the burly cricketer make his international debut for New Zealand in 1997 in ODIs and he made his Test debut as well later that year.

Though McMillan possessed a much better batting average in Tests than ODIs, his finest moments in international cricket came in the ODI format when he played a key role in New Zealand's clean sweep over Australia in 2007 prior to the ICC World Cup.

Chasing 337 and 347 to win in the 2nd and 3rd ODIs of the series, McMillan scored a 30-ball 52 and 96-ball 117 respectively to see his side complete a famous series victory.

McMillan was a colourful character on the field during his playing days and went on to play 55 Tests, 97 ODIs, and 8 T20Is for New Zealand. He is currently serving as the batting coach of the New Zealand national side.

#5 Nathan Astle

Astle holds the record for scoring the fastest ever Test double century

Nathan Astle is regarded as one of New Zealand's greatest players ever in ODI history and is their second highest run-getter in the 50-over format, scoring 7090 runs from 223 matches.

While the opened the batting in ODIs, Astle played in the middle order in the Test format and holds the record for scoring the fastest ever double century, which came off just 153 balls against England at Christchurch, more than 15 years ago.

Astle made his first-class debut for Canterbury in 1991 but had a less than productive time in his first three seasons. However, the 1994-95 season proved to be a game-changer for Astle as he scored 663 runs at an average of above 55.

The breakthrough season, which included knocks of 175 against Northern Districts and 191 against Wellington, helped Astle make his New Zealand ODI debut in 1995 and his Test debut would come a year later.

Astle was also an accomplished medium pacer with more than 150 international wickets and also an agile fielder in the slips.

#4 Chris Cairns

Cairns was a destructive batsman and a fine exponent of medium pace bowling

One of New Zealand's greatest all-rounders ever and one of eight players in cricket history to complete the double of 200 wickets and 3000 runs, Chris Cairns was one of the best players in the world during his time as a player.

When fit, Cairns was one of New Zealand's most vital players in both formats of the game and once held the record for the most number of sixes in Test cricket.

He is only one of four New Zealand cricketers with more than 200 Test wickets and his finest moment in international cricket came during the final of the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy when he smashed an unbeaten knock of 102 to help the Black Caps defeat India to lift the trophy.

His finest performance in first-class cricket came in the final of the 2006 State Shield in which Cairns put in a superb all-round showing to help Canterbury defeat Central Districts.

Allegations of match-fixing tarnished Cairns' image to a great extent though the former New Zealand cricketer is yet to be found guilty of the charges levied at him.

#3 Stephen Fleming

Fleming will be remembered as one of the greatest captains in the history of the game

Known for his calm and graceful demeanour, Stephen Fleming earned the respect of his teammates as one of the greatest captains in the history of the game, leading New Zealand to their one and only ICC Trophy till date - the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.

He managed to get the best out of a side despite not having many world-class players to depend on and that was Fleming's biggest trait as a cricketer - something that he has carried forward as a coach as well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

Having made his first-class debut for Canterbury in 1991, Fleming took another three years to make his Test debut. He made it a match to remember though winning the Man of the Match award for his knock of 92 against India.

His finest ODI knock for New Zealand came in the 2003 World Cup when he scored 134 off just 132 balls to beat hosts South Africa.

Fleming retired from international cricket in 2008 and still is New Zealand's most capped player and highest run-getter in both Test and ODI cricket.

In an 18-year first-class career, Fleming played for Canterbury and Wellington in New Zealand while he also turned out for Nottinghamshire, Middlesex, and Yorkshire in English County Cricket.

#2 Shane Bond

Bond made an ever-lasting impact with the ball despite his constant injury troubles

Undoubtedly New Zealand's greatest fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee, Shane Bond's career was one plagued by injuries, but such was the impact he made during his short career that he is counted amongst the greatest players to have played the game.

Bond has the second best bowling strike rate of all time in Test match cricket (38.7) and his express pace and toe-crushing yorkers made the New Zealand speedster one of the toughest bowlers to face up to.

Bond made his first-class debut as a 21-year-old for Canterbury against Central Districts but played only 12 matches during his first three seasons before quitting the game for nearly a year after joining New Zealand police.

Luckily for cricket fans, Bond came back to the sport and made his Test debut for New Zealand in 2001 and made an immediate impact with his sheer pace and wicket-taking abilities.

Bond picked 87 wickets from just 18 Tests and 147 wickets from 82 ODIs - remarkable figures to say the least.Bond reserved his best for New Zealand's Trans-Tasman rivals Australia, proving a nemesis for Ricky Ponting whom he dismissed in each of the first six ODIs they played against each other.

Bond's 6/23 against eventual champions Australia in the 2003 World Cup is still talked about as one of the best spells of bowling in World Cup history and it's a shame that the world got to see so less of Bond as a player owing to his injury troubles.

#1 Sir Richard Hadlee

Hadlee is one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game

Quite simply, the greatest player in New Zealand Cricket history, Sir Richard Hadlee carried the team's fortunes on his own shoulders throughout his career and was the first player in the history of the game to reach the landmark of 400 Test wickets.

Apart from his bowling skills, Hadlee was an accomplished lower-order batsman who loved to hit the ball big and is counted as one among the four great all-rounders of the 1980s along with Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, and Imran Khan.

Hadlee made his first-class debut for Canterbury in 1971/72 and made his first Test appearance in 1973. Though he didn't make an instant impression with either bat or ball, Hadlee's 11-wicket haul in the win over India in 1976 established his place in the side and there was no looking back since.

Hadlee reserved his best for Australia, including his devastating spell of 9/52 in the first Test of New Zealand's three-match series in 1985/86 at Brisbane. Hadlee's 33 wickets in 3 matches helped New Zealand to their first-ever series win on Australian soil.

In ODIs, Hadlee was the first player to complete the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets and retired from international cricket as the leading wicket-taker in Tests with 431 wickets to his name.

Knighted in 1990 for his services to cricket, Canterbury honoured Hadlee by naming the north stand at the AMI stadium in Christchurch after Hadlee.